The Last Duel

The Last Duel is an American-British historical film directed by Ridley Scott, released in 2021. It is based on Eric Jager's book The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France and was made by Scott Free Productions and Pearl Street Films. The story is set in fourteenth-century France. The knight Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and the squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) fall into a dispute after Carrouges's wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer) accuses Le Gris of rape. The film tells the story three times, from the point of view of each of the three characters in turn, and according to the Hollywood Reporter it therefore shows one of the battles twice from different perspectives. The fighting in the film rests on medieval combat in plate armour. It culminates in a judicial duel in which Carrouges and Le Gris first meet on horseback with lances and then on foot. Besides it, the film contains three other battle scenes. Both lead actors fought in heavy armour, and according to stunt coordinator Rob Inch, Adam Driver performed most of the ground fight himself. The source is a real judicial duel held on 29 December 1386 near Paris, which King Charles VI came to watch. It is often described as the last judicial duel permitted by the Parlement of Paris, but later judicial duels were also held in France.

Martial arts in this work

Fight choreography

The fights in the film were led by stunt coordinator Rob Inch, who according to Slashfilm was also second unit director on the final duel. He first filmed the duel choreography on video and submitted it to Ridley Scott and Matt Damon for approval. By his own account he built the duel as a dramatic scene alternating peaks and calmer moments, and because of the limited mobility he compared a fight between two men in full armour to a fight between two stormtroopers. Preparing the final duel took about two months and it was shot over two weeks: the first week the joust on horseback with stunt doubles, the second week the fight on foot. According to Inch, Adam Driver performed about 95% of the ground fight himself, and Matt Damon also wanted to do as much action as possible without a double. The other three battles were each shot over one to two days with a group of 20 stunt performers, who were in covid quarantine.

Fact and fiction

Marguerite de Carrouges accused Jacques Le Gris of rape on 18 January 1386, and Le Gris denied the accusation. Count Pierre d'Alençon dismissed the suit, Jean de Carrouges appealed to the king, and the Parlement of Paris permitted a judicial duel because the truth could not be established by an ordinary court. The duel took place on 29 December 1386 on the tournament ground at the abbey of Saint-Martin-des-Champs north of Paris. It was originally set for 27 November and postponed so that King Charles VI could attend. According to a reconstruction from surviving chronicles, the men fought in plate armour with a lance, a long sword, an axe and a dagger: first three charges with lances, then with axes from horseback, and finally with swords on foot. The film departs from reality in the visors: Scott demanded half visors revealing the actors' faces, which according to the Hollywood Reporter and Slashfilm is historically inaccurate and was chosen for emotional connection with the viewer.

People and martial arts

• Ridley ScottDirector
• Rob InchFight choreographer· HEMA
• Matt DamonActor — as Jean de Carrouges· HEMA (portrays the art on screen)
• Adam DriverActor — as Jacques Le Gris· HEMA (portrays the art on screen)
• Rob InchStunt coordinator· HEMA